Impeachment: Trump absence ‘unfortunate’, says Jerrold Nadler

US House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) has described as “unfortunate” US President Donald Trump’s decision to decline participation in a Wednesday impeachment hearing.

“Late last night, the President and his counsel turned down our invitation to participate in Wednesday’s hearing,” read Nadler’s letter.

“His response is unfortunate because allowing the President to participate has been a priority for the House from the outset. That is why the House included the opportunity to participate in H. Res 660.”

“The American people deserve transparency. If the President thinks the call was ‘perfect’ and there is nothing to hide then he would turn over the thousands of pages of documents requested by Congress, allow witnesses to testify instead of blocking testimony with baseless privilege claims, and provide any exculpatory information that refutes the overwhelming evidence of his abuse of power.”

Nadler’s response came a day after White House counsel Pat Cipollone issued a five-page letter to the New York chairman, explaining that Trump would not take part in the committee’s hearing.